cold hands, hot cheeks, boy hair

Category: Three Looks With

So I got the job! And thought it was only right that I celebrate with a make-up investment. As I’ll be keeping my face relatively neutral for work, why not use Urban Decay’s Electric palette to liven up weekends?

Some reviews that I’ve read have commented on how the brush impedes application, however, I think its thicker-than-average synthetic fibres help to apply the colour evenly. Whereas some brushes tend to hold on to the colour, this double-ended brush is comparatively clean after applying shadow to the eye. The firm bristles also allow for precision application which helps create bold definite lines. Obviously, though, this means that a softer brush may be needed to help blend colours when necessary.

Though all of the colours are undoubtedly amazing in the palette, I’ve found that the pigmentation varies and is, surprisingly, weaker in what first appear as the boldest colours.

Here, I used Gonzo on my lid, but found that three layers of shadow was necessary to achieve a decent colour. Even then the colour is not quite the same as how it appears in the palette: it seems more of a cornflower blue than a ‘bright turquoise.’ By comparison, Slowburn – used under my lower lash-line – has a brilliant colour payoff, so much so that it stains my skin slightly when I remove my make-up!

The palette offers a great range of colours that allows for lots of different looks; however, I think that a matte black or white would have made the palette perfectly rounded. In this final look, I began with a black base (GOSH Mono Eyeshadow in ‘Black 006’) and added Thrash to my inner corner, Chaos underneath my lower lash-line and Revolt on the inner portion of my lid to create a dramatic nighttime look.

Overall, I’d give this palette 8/10. The colours are gorgeous and are, in the main, easy to apply, but their versatility does depend on more neutral colours that can only be supplied by another palette.

With the cold weather setting in, the taupe-hued neutrals of Urban Decay’s Naked 2 palette are perfect for autumn. Here are three different looks that move from a minimal day time effect to my go-to cat-eye and then something a little more dramatic.

Look One:

– Tease blended from the outer to inner crease and on the outer lower lash line.

– Chopper on the outer portion of my lid and the middle lash line.

– Half-Baked on the inner portion of my lid and inner lash line.

– Booty Call along my brow bone and in the inner corner of my eye.

I’m not sure if Foxy is intended to be the palette’s highlighter, but on my (very) pale skin the yellow tones tend to make me look a little ill so I prefer to use Booty Call or, even better, Rimmel’s Glam Eyes Mono Eye Shadow in 100 Glam Ice (£4.49).

Look Two:

Here, I just added to the colours used in Look One:

– YDK (my favourite) into my crease and under my eye.

– Busted into my outer v.

– Chopper across the whole of my lid.

– Snakebite on my inner lower lash line.

Using Revlon’s Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen (£6.99), I traced a thin line along my lid (avoid drawing the eyeliner too close to the inner corner of your eye. This can make the eye look smaller if not balanced with an equally intense colour in the outer corner, as in Look Three). I use this eyeliner almost everyday so the tip is too blunt to achieve a precise flick. For that I recommend Rimmel’s Glam Eyes Liquid Eye Liner (£5.29) which has an extra thin brush – perfect for the sharpest of points!

Look Three:

I don’t often have the time (or the patience) to risk attempting a full-on smoky eye, but when I can be bothered I always love how dramatic it looks.

The neutral colours in the palette are fairly tame: the darkest colour Blackout stands out against the subtle beiges and coppers that go before it so the key to this look is blending!

Adding to Look Two, I used:

– Busted along my crease and blended up towards the brow bone.

– I stuck Sellotape along my outer eye to help me achieve a nice sharp line and then blended Blackout into my outer v towards the centre of my lid, up towards the outside of my eyebrow and finally under the lower lash line (I intentionally didn’t go too close to the root of my eyelashes so I could still see a little glimmer of Snakebite underneath my eye).

– To slightly soften the intensity of Blackout, I blended it out under my brow bone using Tease and then reapplied Booty Call as a highlighter.

I brought the eyeliner right to the inner corner of my eye, thickened the line across my lid and widened my flick for a more dramatic look. As you can tell, my eyelashes in Look One are considerably less long and lovely than in Two and Three (*sad face); I’ve been trying out Rimmel’s new ‘Wonderfull’ mascara (£7.99) but usually give in and opt for falsies. I used Eylure’s Naturalites Lashes 070 (£5.39) in Looks Two and Three, they’re a versatile length that suits both daytime and nighttime looks.